Friday, July 30, 2010

Happy Friday to ya my friends! We're off to the Supershow at CHA and then doing some fun stuff in downtown Chicago and then dinner! I'm having lots of fun, tired though and meeting so many fabulous people. It's so nice to meet people face-to-face after talking to them for so long on the web KWIM! I have a couple of photos below, I've been bad about taking photos this trip, not sure why, lol!

But I do have lots of goodies to talk about that I think are FANTASTIC including that NEW Cricut Imagine (I want oneeee), along with the new colors of Ultrafine Flower soft (love the aqua, choc. brown & pine green) and the new regular Flower Soft in silver & gold. Fabulous new paper lines coming out of course but I was really loving the new DCWV, Girls Paperie & Prima papers.

-July 31st is the last day to take advantage of my Summer Special at the Color Me Creative Classroom. Take 2 online Copic classes with me and get $10 off; take all 4 online Copic classes and get $20 off!!

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New Release--Aurora by Victoria Case for SCACD

Today is a fun new release for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design featuring new stamps by Victoria Case for SCACD featuring the cute Aurora and friends--Aurora #2 Collection! All of these new stamps are available today HERE--if you order the sheet of stamps it's a better deal and you get this cutie-pie image above "Sprite" free with the sheet only! The SCACD DT is celebrating with a fun Blog Hop along with our sister store Quixotic Paperie--so make sure to hop along!!

I just love this little "Sprite" image and created a new fangled card for her to be on (upcoming instructions soon on this if you like it) I'm calling it my flip-side card :)--the main image flips over to show a sentiment while the card still opens up like normal. The papers are from Paper Trey Ink and I love the combo of colors, so cheery! I layered a few Prima flowers and the fun border is a MS border punch. I used my Bow Easy for the bow and added a few red pearls to it to finish it off!

So you flip the main image over and it reveals a fun sentiment (by PTI)--the extra swirls are a stamp by PTI as well (Fancy Flourishes). The card still opens up for you to put a special note/message on the inside if you want.

I had some fun in Photoshop playing, hee hee--but this is Sprite up close--isn't she a cutie-patootie?? Remember she is only available if you buy the whole sheet of stamps HERE! She has some pearls on the flowers on her dress and her hat is stickled for bling!!

Hope you have enjoyed this little cutie. And if you get lost, head to the store blog HERE to see the blog hop link list!! See you back here on August 1st!!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Hi everyone! I'm writing from sunny Chicago and I apologize for the short post, but I am just exhausted. Not complaining because CHA is always a lot of fun but I'm running out of steam this evening so I can only type just a bit, lol! I got to have dinner with Diana Crick (of Magnolia-licious & Scor-Pal) and 2 other DT sisters Janiel & Angie of Magnolia-licious---we had a blast, laughed a lot and it was such a pleasure to meet these ladies. I'm working at the Scor-Pal booth today and then me and my roomies (Marti & Terri) are headed to downtown Chicago for some fun!!

I promise to share pictures of CHA real soon along with some fun new goodies I've seen, that I (and maybe you) cannot LIVE WITHOUT, lol!!

Don't forget that I'm only having the Summer Special at the Color Me Creative Classroom for a few more days (July 31)--take 2 Copic Online Classes & get $10 off; take 4 Copic Online classes & get $20 off! Refer a friend or two and get $5 in referral bucks each time!

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Mud Puddles of Love!!

Isn't this guy a little cutie pie? He's a brand new High Hopes stamp designed by artist Melissa Jenkins and I just want to squish the little piggie! You can buy him HERE at Paper Romance along with some other cuties by Melissa & Dustin Pike! The cute papers are from Basic Grey's "Green at Heart" that I distressed with my fave Zutter Distress it All tool! The sentiment is an old Hannah Stamp but I thought it was perfect!

Of course it's colored with Copics & I added some grass to carry in some of the green colors from the paper. The mud got a coat of diamond glaze & then I put stickles on his cheeks and the hearts!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Hiya everyone & Happy last week of July to ya! Can you believe August is upon us already--geez, it feels like summer just got started. I've been away more than I've been home I tell ya and I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for CHA in Chicago. Am I packed yet? NOOOOOOO, lol--I always do that at night, but I am running last minute errands and doing some work today and running another load of laundry! It will be my hubby, his mom & my daughter at home this week---my son left Saturday for New York with my mom & he'll be back this Saturday. I also get home late Saturday night as well and I know I will be bum tuckered out I tell ya! It's always a good time but so very exhausting as you're up early, on your feet all day and up late too. Plus "Smurfette" (my pal Marti) is a very early riser (think 3:30 am) and with the 2 hour time change she'll be wanting to be up at 1 am---I'm a night person and NOT a morning person at all! Great combination for two roomies huh? LOL, but we always have a great time! But I'll be posting all this week so I hope you'll stop by and see the new projects and some news/pics from CHA as well!

NewsBitz:

-This is the VERY LAST week of my Summer Special over at the Color Me Creative Classroom!! Take two online copic classes and get $10 off; take all 4 and get $20 off! It will not be extended so take advantage & tell your friends. If you tell a friend (s) you will get $5 referral bucks refunded to you if you let me know beforehand that they may sign up!! Also check out the NEW Cricut Classes that my pal Marti is teaching there--they are fun & jam-packed full of great information and ideas!

-Remember to submit your projects for the HOLIDAY issue of our magazine "Through the Craftroom Door"!! It comes out early October and we need lots of handmade craft projects featuring fall & winter holidays (paper, sewing, woodworking, clay, jewelry, etc). Submit to craftdoor@yahoo.com by Sept. 4th--must be a non-published project.

-The Whiner/Complainer Blog Candy (see this post) winner will be announced later this week--you can still enter until this Wednesday if you want! Read this post today closely to win some Bon Voyage Blog Candy!!

-2 MORE ways to win some yummy blog candy! SCACD is gearing up for a NEW Victoria Case release this week and to celebrate has some awesome candy on the store blog HERE. Scroll down a post and enter to win some Viva Decor Candy as well!! Yummy-licious!

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Bon Voyage--Nautical Blog Hop

Today the Magnolia-licious DT has a fun "Nautical Themed" BLOG HOP for you! The NEW Magnolia Collection is called "Bon Voyage" & you can pre-order all these new cuties HERE at Magnolia-licious! I didn't have any of the new ones yet so I pulled out two older stamps (and un-inked--GASP) stamps from the Student/Graduate Collection 09' that I think are just adorable to use on my card. I created a fun "Bon Voyage" card and mini travel journal that could be given to a college student heading off or for friends leaving on a fun trip! I used vintage sepia colors instead of the usual nautical colors of blue, reds & white for a different and more vintage look!

Both of these stamps are from the Student/Graduate Collection 09' but to me they look more like party shipmates, dontcha' think, lol?! Diana has "Student Edwin" in stock but "Student Tilda" looks to be out of stock--I'm sure if you love & want her Diana will make sure to order more, just ask sweetly :) I used some fabulous new paper from Making Memories "Panorama" that I just got--it inspired both the card and the travel journal. I love the vintage travel images and sepia tones of the paper so I colored my images to match (E44 thru E40, E55,E55,E50). I created a porthole for them to sit/stand in using cardstock cut with my nestabilities and then added Bella Baubles in Goldilocks around the circle. All of the papers got distressed with my Zutter Distress tool and inked as well for a more vintage look. Behind the porthole is some Magic Mesh that I cut and crinkled a bit to look like fish netting--this stuff is so fun to work with and sticks right to your papers. The ticket is from a Tim Holtz book of tickets that I stamped "Create Your Own Journey" onto & added some more Bella Baubles. Then I added some twine wrapped around the card & tied off.

My images were colored on my fave Cryogen Irridescent paper (which has subtle sparkles in it). Colored with Copics E44 thru E40 and E57,E55,E50. Her shirt & his shoes got some stardust stickles for a little extra bling--her shoes have diamond glaze on them. The champagne in the glasses was colored with my Copic Gold Spica and then I put a thick coat of diamond glaze on top of them for lots of shine!

The travel journal was bought as a pre-made book by 7 Gypsies---they are so cute, I just love them! I embellished the outside to match my card using a Tim Holtz ticket die to make the small tickets that I stamped on. (Technique Tuesday stamps) Some more Magic Mesh, twine & a button finish the front off. I stamped the same sentiment by " on the inside cover. Hope you enjoyed my more vintage Nautical project today!

**Candy Alert---I've got 3 stamps & a 7 Gypsies mini-book to give away to some lucky person!! (Pirate Edwin, Pirate Tilda & barrel w/anchor stamp) Tell me what worldly destination YOU WOULD NOT want to visit and why?? on this post only by Friday, July 30th to win!! (for me it would be anywhere cold like Antartica, lol)**

Now you need to continue swimming on the Nautical Blog Hop with Becca Feeken's Blog--which is sure to be fabulous!! I'm excited to meet Becca, Angie Hunt & Janiel from the Magnolia-licious DT at CHA this week too!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Happpppy Friday everyone--yay it's TGIF again! And I'm still chuckling today at all you WHINERS & COMPLAINERS, hee hee----I love it! (See this post if you want to know what I'm talking about--and enter for blog candy) I think we should set up a barter service between us all and swap those awful chores we don't want to do. My hateful chores are grocery shopping and laundry---but I like to dust & vacuum and wash dishes, so I'll trade if you want, PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSE!! LOL! When they create a true Maid Robot that WORKS well I will be the first in line to buy it let me tell ya! But its the weekend and I try hard NOT to do to many chores if I can so I think you all deserve the weekend off too! It's hard cleaning all week after our kids, hubby's and animals---we all need a big BREAK!! Here, Here! LOL! I'll be sending off my son bright and early in the morning to New York then taking hubby and daughter (well ok, forcing them, hee hee) to go shopping at Tysons Corner with me to get 2 new dresses for a wedding we'll be attending.

When I get home from CHA I'll only be home for 3 days and then I leave for a vacation with hubby to Vermont and go to a wedding for a week. We got engaged in Vermont and haven't been back for a few years so I'm looking forward to some alone-time (wink wink) with hubby. The wedding will be Friday and Saturday and then we're free to be by ourselves! Then I'm home for good for awhile at least, hee hee! Below are the last grouping of pics from my vacation for you---a lot of these are printed and getting framed right now :) along with some of those black & whites I showed you!

Slide Show #4:

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Viva La Mermaid

Today the SCACD DT is having a special Blog Hop---we're pairing up with our overseas sister store Quixotic Paperie for a fabulously, fun Viva Decor Blog Hop. Here is a blurb from Susana about the hop:

Quixotic Paperie owned by the Fabulous Elaine and our Susana of SCACD have been partnering on efforts behind the scenes such that they consider each other International Sister Stores. They are combining efforts on certain mutual adventures starting with this awesome Viva Blog Hop which of course involves Yummy Candy!! So make sure you stop at BOTH store Blogs HERE for SCACD and HERE for Quixotic Paperie. You will have a chance to win a set of 3 of the most popular Pens - (Ice White Pearl pen, Holographic Glitter pen and the Clear Gloss gel pen). So each Store Blog will offer up one chance to win the set. How Yummy is that?!! The candy will run thru the 31st and All you have to do is answer a question at each store blog - 1 entry at eachSTORE blog per person!!

I chose to use a fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie mermaid stamp (yes, Susanas & Quixotic Paperie both sell these) called "Aurora"--isn't she a cutie! I used some fabby new papers from SEI "On the Coast"--I love the springy green paired with aqua, so pretty! I FAUX stitched the edges (I'm not brave enuff to sew yet, yikes) with my paper piercer, Tim Holtz ruler (great for piercing in lines) and my Sharpie Poster paint pen. The scrolls are from two punches I have and I embellished them with bubbles made with my Viva Decor Gloss Gel Pen in transluscent--the bubbles beside her on the left side are from this pen also, very cool. I used my Bow Easy to tie my bow and then hooked a fun shell charm to it.

Up close you can see I colored her with Copics--I used the feathering technique to color her mermaid tail, which is a fun look! (YG25,YG01,YG0000/BG72,BG11,BG10) After coloring I used my Viva Decor Gloss Gel pen again on her tail and her eyes for shine and dimension--this pen creates a thicker coat the first time then the diamond glaze which is nice! Then on her tail fins, shell bikini and starts I used the Viva Decor Glitter Liner (in holographic) which is super glittery and dimensional! I think she's so cute and so much fun!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Happy Thursday to you all! Hope you're in the cool A/C today getting crafty or relaxing a bit :) I'm taking the kids and their friends to the pool again today for a few hours--while I enjoy reading by the pool, as hot as it's been it's been a little bit not-enjoyable, lol! And then I've got to do some chores and finish laundry including the dreaded grocery store. As much as I enjoy Wegmans I don't really like grocery shopping--like laundry it's an endless chore and I can think of so many other things I'd rather be doing,lol! Riley is leaving bright & early Saturday morning with my mom to go to New York and I have to finish his laundry--while this in itself is not a huge event it is a regular and daily occurrence! He is always dirty--lol--I can never recycle his clothes and he usually goes thru 2 outfits a day especially during the summer when he's horribly sweaty--ewww! So I'm constantly washing his stuff--it's never done, hee hee--if you have boys you know what I mean. He's 12 now and it's been like this since he was born so does it ever end?? And trust you me, he is NOT ready to run a washing machine yet, I promise you that!

So what is your worst chore or the one you just DESPISE??? I'd love to hear about it and think of this as a non-judgemental whining & complaining area for the day---just let it all out!!! And for a great twist--the BEST whiner/complainer (IMO) will get a $25 gift certificate to spend at 7 Kids College Fund!! Drown your sorrows and complaints in some new craft supplies okay :)

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has all the NEW Spellbinders in the store for pre-order HERE! I already pre-ordered a few of my faves (love the beaded ovals and lacy squares)!

-Our magazine "Through the Craftroom Door" will be putting out a special Holiday Issue in October and we are looking for submissions galore! We want any & all projects that are fall or winter holiday themed (sewing, papercrafts, scrapbooking, jewelry, etc.). Deadline is September 4th--all submissions must never have been published on the web or any other paper publication! We'd love to see what you have created--email them to craftdoor@yahoo.com with the subject line HOLIDAY!

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Hey Chickie!!

This card was created for two reasons today--the first is for a fun Dare to Get Dirty Challenge on SCS by Dirty Girl Kelly (kmahaney on SCS) & you can see details of her challenge HERE (if you are a fan club member or want to be one)! The Dirty Girl challenges run thru this Saturday and there are lots of fun ones if you want to take part--including mine which you can see HERE!

Secondly this card was made for Paper Romance--they are having a challenge Thursday today and you can find the details HERE (I did not follow the challenge, I goofed, hee hee), but wanted you to know about it!

This is another fabulous stamp by Bildmalarna called "Mimosa's Chickens" and although Paper Romance doesn't have this stamp in stock (perhaps you can ask the fabulous Amy if she will) she has LOTS of the other to-die-for cuties HERE! The purty papers that I used are from Webster's Pages that you can find HERE. I used some more of my fave Marianne Designs dies (see here) for the scrolls and the border was done with a MS punch--I love the little border on the scallops of this punch, so cute! To finish it off I tied a bow with my Bow Easy and topped it with a PTI button (ribbon & sentiment is PTI as well).

Isn't she a cutie? I colored her with Copics and then I went over every color with either E50 or W00 to mute the colors and make them a bit more vintage looking. Her shoes and seeds got a coat of diamond glaze and some stickles on her dress for sparkle.

Hope you enjoyed the project today--I'll be back tomorrow with a fun project and fun Blog Hop!! Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Hello everyone & a Happy Tuesday to you all! Well I did my rain dance yesterday and guess what? IT RAINED, lol--yay! Hopefully we'll get another rain later this week and we'll be good to go for a bit. I hate moving sprinklers around every 40 mins--what a pain in the rear KWIM! I'm catching up on lots of work this week as I leave next Tuesday for CHA in Chicago with my pal Marti :) But keep checking in next week because I'll have a few pre-posts and some newsies from CHA for ya as well that you won't want to miss! We did get some stuff done over the weekend--I'm painting our front door so I got the color picked out and we picked out a new door handle, knocker & plate for the front door as well. I HATE brass anything, so we're switching over to aged bronze which is my fave! Our new lights are aged bronze as well so the front of the house will be spiffy and now we just gotta get the windows washed in August & we're good to go in the front. The backyard makeover will be starting while I'm away at CHA so I hope all goes smoothly. My hubby's mom is coming to stay with Alexa while I'm gone at CHA. Riley is leaving this Saturday to go to New York with my mom and sister to visit my grandmother & uncle for a week too--so lots of stuff going on and lots to get done too, lol!

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I'll share the rest of my vacation pics with you later in the week! Winner of the last Blog Candy (see this post) is: Pam Speck!! Yay Pam--email me your address so I can get your goodies to ya! Thanks to everyone for the yummy desserts & recipes you shared with me. I'll share more of mine with you soon!

NewsBitz:

-Don't forget the SUMMER SPECIAL that is still going on until the end of July at the Color Me Creative Classroom! Take 2 Copic Classes & get $10 off, take 4 Copic Classes & get $20 off!! See the details HERE! And you can just join the main site Color Me Creative as well even if you don't sign up for a class--we have live Chats once a week everyone is welcome to, free resources, challenges and some new events will be coming! (next chat is tonite at 8:30-9:30 pm EST, come chat with me)

-Today is also the LAST day for pre-registration prices for the 2 NEW Cricut Classes with my pal Marti! The classes launched yesterday and are ready for you to join and have fun with! Visit the Color Me Creative Classroom (click on drop-down menu under Class Info/Pricing tab) to see all the details!

-Magnolia-licious has the NEW Bon Voyage Magnolia stamps for order HERE--they are DELISH I tell ya! I love the ones from all the different countries--they are my favorites!

-Also my friend/owner Della of I Brake For Stamps will be selling the fabulous Posh Stamp Line (Dee Gruenig) very soon so stay tuned for that! Come and join Club Posh HERE to meet new friends, share ideas & be inspired!

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Beach Blanket Bingo

Today I'm sharing with you a Magnolia card I made for the Dare to Get Dirty Challenge that I'm hosting over on Splitcoast Stampers! I can't tell you all the details but if you're a Fan Club Member (or want to become one see here) you can access my challenge thread HERE! If you want to try out one or all of the 33 Challenges that the Dirty Girls are hosting this week then visit this thread HERE! If you do do all the challenges (yes you can combine them, lol) make sure to put it on that main thread because you'll be entered for a prize! ALSO: I will be LIVE on my challenge thread from 3 pm until around 7 pm EST so stop by and chat for a second--I'd love to see you there! After that I'll be on the Color Me Creative Classroom Chat Box from 8:30 pm til 9:30 pm EST, lol!!

This is a fabulous summer Magnolia stamp called "Surf Tilda" from Magnolia-licious--isn't she a cutie?! (there is a matching Surf Edwin HERE too) I based this card on some fabulous older summer/surfer movies that Annette Funicello was in back in the day (I love old movies)! Remember "Beach Blanket Bingo" and "Bikini Beach" and all those oldie but goodies (see here for pics)--well that's how I envisioned this card. Equal parts summer, fun and elegance! The dp is by Memory Box "Jubilee" and then I've used a fabulous Prima pearl swirl to emulate waves lapping across the card! The white trim is done with a MS border punch and I added a few pale blue dew drops to the side--I thought they looked like water bubbles.

I colored this image with Copics but I stamped & colored the surfboard twice so I could pop it up for more dimension. Someone asked me what pop-dots I use and my faves of them all are these that I buy in packs from Create for Less HERE (I like the square 1/8" the best, but also have the 1/16" for a thinner pop dot too)! I buy the (Copics Used: B02,B00,B0000 & YG25,YG01,YG0000/Hair-E35,E31,YR20,E50) The surfboard got a coat of diamond glaze then when that dried I added a thin coat of stardust stickles to the top for extra bling! The blue parts of her swimsuit also got stickles on them :)

That's all for me today, whew---another long one, hee hee! I'll be back on Thursday with a new project for ya along with a NEW Copic QuikBitz Video too :) so stay tuned! Remember to join in on all those fabulous Dare to Get Dirty Challenges okay!!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Hello friends & Happy Sunday Evening to you! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! If you are battling the brutal summer heat like we are on the East Coast, you feel my sympathy! While I like it warm--100 degrees with 90% of humidity is a bit much for my liking, lol! WOW--it is dry & very hot here in VA, I've been running the sprinklers non-stop! I'm hoping for some good old fashioned rain this week, so I will be doing the rain dance in my house (so if you see me dancing you'll know why, lol). The weather seems to be awfully freaky this past year don't you think? I mean we got an earthquake here the other day--on the freakin' EAST COAST! What the heck was that? It woke me up, thought a house on our street had exploded, no lie--it was scary and the whole house was vibrating! We here on the East ARE NOT used to these things, lol--I'd rather have a hurricane rainstorm then earthquakes I tell ya! SCARY and aftershocks came last night again--shook my whole house again & dogs were barking--chaos at 3 am! Geez--I'd like both rain AND some sleep, hee hee!

Anywho, tonight the Gina K DT gals are putting on a fun Blog Hop for you featuring the fabulous set "Seeds of Kindness" which is also the Card Club Kit this month (when you buy this set you get the card ingredients included)!

I decided to use an elegant if not rare color combo of black, white and olive (Gina's Fresh Asparagus cs)--I saw a mix of papers in my drawer from Memory Box & PTI and decided it was perfect for this stamp set! I creatd a fun card for a friend and a matching watering can that could be filled with a little treat or used as a gift tag/favor!

I also made this card for one of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges over on SCS that are running all this week (33 challenges in total including one from me on the 20th!)--lots of fun challenges & you can check them out HERE (you must be or become a SCS Fan Club Member to view them)! I used Kim Teasdale's challenge HERE for this project! The images in the "Seeds of Kindness" set are all stunning & a lot of fun to color and use with your projects. I colored this plant with Copics (YG99,YG97,YG95,YG00) and added some Stickles to the edges of the leaves for some sparkle. The pot (C9,C7,C5,C3) got a coat of diamond glaze on it (or you could use Crystal Lacquer) for some shine. The circle nestability cut-out got embossed with a Tim Holtz CB embossing folder then I layered it on a scalloped circle for extra texture/depth.

For the matching favor/gift bag tag/small gift I chose to make a fun lil' watering can to match. You can find this tutorial/template on SCS HERE--really easy to make. I chose to make the handles and spout with my decorative paper and the rest with cardstock. To embellish it I made some border trims with my MS border punch and adhered it to the can with Scor-Tape. The scrolls are from Marianne Designs dies that I wrapped & glued around the watering can for decoration (you could also easily emboss the body of the watering can before assembling too). Then I topped it off with a few layered Prima Flowers--this would be super cute for favors at a party, tied to a gift or as mini ornaments!

Now you'll need to hop around to all the fabulous designers listed below to get even more wonderful ideas! For more details on the card kit that is included with the purchase of the Seeds of Kindness stamp set, please click here. Then, to see even more samples with this versatile stamp set, visit these designer's blog links who are participating in the hop tonight:

Friday, July 16, 2010

Yay--it's Friday friends! I'm off to the pool today with the kids and their friends--I had promised them all this week that if I was able to get most of my work done I would take them & some friends to the pool. And I'm taking my friend the "Kindle", lol, to read and meeting a friend there as well :) It's gonna be hot so its a good day to go and hang out and relax for awhile! I have soooo much work to get done before I leave for CHA in Chicago though--my to-do list just keeps growing, lol! I guess it would never feel right if my to-do list was ever done--then I might be BORED, LMBO!

If you will be at CHA I will be wondering around with my Smurfette pal "Marti" (lmbo--cuz she's A LOT shorter than me is how she got that name so I can holler & find her, hee hee) and working in the Scor-Pal booth on Thursday, so stop by and say HI! We'll also be at the Consumer Show both days handing out flyers for the magazine & classroom so you will see us there too--by that time we'll be totally LOONY and exhausted! But it's always a great time & I'm looking forward to it! So other than catching up on work I have NO PLANS for the weekend--I love the sound of that! I might even get to have a jammie day again--haven't had one of those in a long time, lol! Gonna get some more reading done too! Hope you're weekend is relaxing & fun for you too!

Some other books I read while on vacation that you might enjoy (a shout-out to Bonnie who said I was causing her to not get her work done becuz' she's reading, lol, I apologize, hee hee):Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner, The French Gardener by Santa Monetfiore and this AWESOMELY moving, touching and fantastic book by Jane Green (love her books) called "Promises to Keep". It is really, really good and she based part of that book on her real life experience with her best friend--a MUST READ!

I will put the rest of my vacation pictures up tomorrow or on Monday--I ran out of time and was too tired to edit and post them to Picasa, lol!

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has a great SALE on all FLOWERS in stock HERE--10% off using the code FLOWERS10! This includes the NEW Prima Roses found HERE!

-Remember the two SPECIALS I have going on at the Color Me Creative Classroom! Sign up for 2 copic classes & get $10 off, sign up for all 4 copic classes & get $20 off! Also 2 NEW Cricut Classes that are pre-registering with discounted prices! Go HERE to see the Specials!!

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Christmas in July, huh?!!

I know, I know it's early to start Xmas/Winter cards but the stamps & products are coming out & I'm planning the Holiday Issue of Through the Craftroom Door with Marti! It's VERY hard for me to get in a winter mood with it being sunny & 90 degrees out I tell ya, LOL! But I missed the Gina K Release party since I was on vacation so I'm playing catch-up now! Gina K released some fabulous new sets this month but this one is my favorite. It's called "Blessed is the Season" and the images are serene and beautiful for the winter holidays!

I used some scraps of holiday papers from last year (Imaginisce & My Minds Eye) because I love this color combo--cool, peaceful and pretty! I distressed the papers with my Zutter Distress tool to make it more shabby chic! The trims were done with a MS border punch and I just layered 2 rows of them and then topped with ribbon. Bow was done with my Bow Easy and I topped it with a snowflake punch out covered in the MS Snow Glitter.

I stamped the tree image (gorgeous isn't it) in SU Baja Blue ink, then added some white Liquid Applique to the branches & heated it to puff it up. After that cooled I added stickles to the trees for sparkle and the snow on the ground & around the image is MS Snow Glitter (my fave winter snow stuff)!

Hope this project cooled ya off a bit and got you thinking about the upcoming holidays! Make sure to check out all the new Gina K releases HERE and stop back by on Sunday evening--there will be a fun blog hop using one of the new sets!!

I'll be back tomorrow with a Elisabeth Bell for SCACD project & some more vacay pics!!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Hello friends & Happy Thursday to you all! Wow, the weekend is almost here already--how time flew this week while I was busy playing catch up & working, lol! Tomorrow I'm taking the kids and their friends to the pool for a bit since it's gonna be a HOT one! We came home from our vacation and our yard was as brown & dry as the Sahara desert--I kid you not! Well it did rain yesterday & I've been watering to help but wow--we started off the spring with so much green & now everything is browning out! But we have no big plans for the weekend which is nice, hopeful to just hang around the house and chill and maybe get some extra chores done. I bought some new outside lights for the front of the house that I want hubby to put up (my honey-do list, hee hee) but we'll see how that goes, lol! Speaking of buying stuff--ack--Paper Trey Ink is KILLING me I tell ya. The past few months I've been trying to be good but I end up hitting the "Buy It All" button everytime, LOL--they need to cut it out and take a month off (giggle)! Last night I bought a bunch more stuff and I haven't used last month's stuff yet, eek!

Today's picture slideshow (yes, I told you I took a bunch of pics on vacay, lol) are from our trip to Dafuskie Island off of Hilton Head Island. We took a private boat and tour guide to the island which was wonderful--I highly recommend doing that (we used Outside Hilton Head tours). We left early in the morning before it got really hot and our guide (Steve) was wonderful. He stopped the boat so we could see the dolphins, pointed out different kinds of birds and pretty houses along the way--he even let the kids drive the boat for a bit which they loved. If you love Pat Conroy then you've probably read "The Water Is Wide" which is an account of his time on the island when he was a teacher. In school we had to read his book & watch the movie "Conrack" so I was anxious to visit. The island culture is very UNIQUE, the Gullah culture is alive and well and artists abound there and we toured via a golf cart. We stopped at Silver Dew Pottery (got a beautiful pot), an iron artist and some interesting (and yummo) restaurants on the side of the road. If you get the chance to visit you won't be disappointed!

Slideshow #3:

NewsBitz:

-Splitcoast Stampers is having their annual Dare to Get Dirty Challenge 2010 starting the 17th that you can join in on! There are lots of fun challenges being held by past & present Dirty Girls including ME!! My challenge will be on the 20th and I'll have my project here on my blog for you that day with a link to the challenge---it will be fun I promise!

-I Brake For Stamps has some fun new stamps in the store HERE--including some of those fabulously funny Humorous Seniors! Have you checked their digi store I Brake For Digis yet--why not? GO HERE! LOL and if you buy anything use the Discount Code "SAVE10SUZANNE" to get 10% off your entire order!!

-Remember the two SPECIALS I have going on at the Color Me Creative Classroom! Sign up for 2 copic classes & get $10 off, sign up for all 4 copic classes & get $20 off! Also 2 NEW Cricut Classes that are pre-registering with discounted prices! Go HERE to see the Specials!!

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Scrolls & Peonies

Today I'm sharing a card with you that I've done for this week's TIOT (Try It Out Tues/Thurs) Challenge for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design. I challenged the DT to create a project that was mostly white/cream with a pop of color, but the image can be multi colored. Ummm, yes I cheated slightly, lol--I HAD to add some plum and hot pink to my project!! I used a fabulous new Lockhart Stamp Co. stamp called "Peonies" for my main image. Peonies seem to be popping up everywhere lately--including some lovely yellow ones in my front garden, they're so pretty!

Isn't that "Peonies" stamp by Lockhart beautiful--I just love it! I embossed the white cardstock with a CB embossing folder (Tim Holtz one here)--I love white embossed, so pretty! The scrolls are from a new Marianne Designs die (Circle Frame HERE)--I just love the delicacy of these dies. TIP:sometimes die cuts can be hard to get out of dies, so place wax paper between the die & your paper. Then run thru your machine 2-3 times and ta-da it slips out very easily for you! The bow was made with my Bow Easy & I used my SB's Circle Nestabilities to cut the circle mats & image.

A closeup of the image for you---I used these Copics on the image: Plums-V99,V95,V000/Pinks-RV19,RV14 & RV10. I added a few stardust stickles on some of the flower petals for extra sparkle--so pretty!

I'll see ya back here with a NEW Gina K release project and more SC pictures!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Hello everyone & a Happy Wednesday to ya! Wow, you ladies like your summertime desserts--reading your comments on yesterday's post (see post below for comments for the yummy blog candy which is on-going)made me HUNGRY, lol! Such yummy desserts & ideas you've shared--just a taste & right to my waist it seems, LOL! You all love your summer fruits, strawberry shortcake (makes me want my grandma's biscuits and strawberries) and homemade ice cream. I ate A LOT of ice cream on vacation--if you go to Hilton Head you MUST visit the Hilton Head Ice Cream shop!! YUMMERS & they make it fresh there--my faves are Brownie Cheesecake & Sweet Butter Praline! Now I gotta RUN off all those calories over the next few weeks, hee hee! I also LOVE my mom's lemon meringue pie--no one makes it better than my mom & the thicker/higher the meringue on top, the BETTER!!

I'm sharing a fave recipe called "Pistachio Fruit Salad" that a friend of our family always made for me when I was young and it continues to be a fave--I put the recipe in a pdf file for you HERE if you want to give it a go! Another favorite recipe from my Grandma Seeley is "Cream Puff Pie"-- recipe pdf file HERE! Both are light, easy to make & so YUMMO-LICOUS for summertime!

More pictures below--these are from our trip to Savannah, GA. Such a beautiful historic district, lots of great shops and restaurants and so much fabulous architecture! We did a carriage tour of the city this time (couldn't convince the kids to do the ghost tour--freaked them out, lol), ate on the harbor and visited these fab shops Nourish, The Bee Company & the Paula Deen store :) Tomorrow I'll share pics of our trip to Daufuskie Island!

Picture Slideshow #2:

NewsBitz:

-Winner of the last blog candy (see this post) is lucky commenter #1 Renkata of Scrap & Stamp with Friends! Congrats Renkata--please visit the Magnolia-licious Store and pick 2 Magnolia stamps you'd like & email me your choices!! Thanks to everyone who entered and told me of their favorite relaxation places--they all sounded fabulous, peaceful & serene! My two fave relaxation places are the beach and my bed in the evening when the house is quiet & I can read!

-There are 2 NEW Cricut Classes up for pre-registration at the Color Me Creative Classroom! Both are taught by the fabulous Marti Wills (my pal, co-conspirator and blogger of Pez-a-doodle Design). You can see both Class descriptions & pricing at the CMC main site HERE, hover on the Class Info/Pricing tab and click on the class you're interested in. Discounted pricing is available thru July 20th for the 2 new Cricut Classes and both classes will be launched on Monday, July 19th!

-New Products available at 7 Kids College Fund that you might likee!! New CC Designs stamps (Fairytale & Mermaids), New Shimmerz Pearl paints, & The Greeting Farm stamps--see all HERE!

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I Wuv You!!

Today I'm sharing a project that I had made before I left, but forgot to take pics of--DUH on my part, lol! This is another cutie-patootie Popcorn Bear stamp from my friend Amy Leggate's store "Paper Romance". I just love these bears and love that they come in packs with small accessory stamps! I believe the patterned paper is from Bo-Bunny (Alissa)-thanks to those that helped me out. I loved the pink & black color combo!

This Popcorn Bear stamp is called "I Love You" and it includes one bear sitting with the sign & one standing with a blank sign. You can stamp the different expressions included in the set in their signs which is fun! The black trim on the side was done with black cardstock and then I punched a border on each side with a fabby MS border punch, then added some bling-y rhinestones. Then I layered a few Prima flowers together, topped it with a fun button and tied some Scrapper's Floss thru it!

Close up view--I colored the image with Copics (I used all C gray copics for the bear) and used broad, unblended strokes to create a furry texture. See my copic tutorial video HERE to see how to color bears like this! I added some stickles to his paws & paint--diamond glaze on the heart in the sign! I think this would be cute for any occasion!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Hello my friends and Happy July to you all! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaackkkk! I had to be dragged back from my most favorite place on earth but it's good to be home, hee hee! We had a fabulous vacation--the weather was PERFECT and it was even cooler in SC than it was here in VA! It sure was nice to not have a schedule, not worrying about the to-do list and just sit back & relax! I couldn't have asked for a better time with my family that's for sure! I would have posted more last week but realized when I got down to SC I realized I forgot to take pics of some of my projects before I left, LOL! So I'll be sharing those this week with ya'll!

I also read A LOT of books (15 in total, hee hee)--I read at the pool, the beach and every evening when everyone is sleeping so I can read a bunch in that time. I'll share a few with you everyday that I really enjoyed along with a slideshow of pictures that I'll spread over a couple of days, because I also have A LOT of pictures to share too! I've got pics of Savannah, the beach and Daufuskie Island, SC too!

Some Fabulous Books I read while on vacation: The Art of Keeping Secrets, When Light Breaks & Driftwood Summer all by Patti Callahan Henry (if you like Karen White & Pat Conroy--these are a great combo of both); Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer; and The Language of Sand by Ellen Block! ALL excellent! (Patti Callahan Henry is one of my new fave authors, I read ALL of her books while on vacay thanks to my handy-dandy Kindle, hee hee)

Slideshow #1 (4th of July and beach pics):

NewsBitz:

-Long Post below, but read carefully for a chance at some very DELISH Candy! The last blog candy winner will be posted tomorrow!

-My Summer Special at the Online Copic Classroom "Color Me Creative" is still running thru the end of July! Take any 2 Copic classes and get $10 refunded to you; take all 4 copic classes and get $20 refunded to you! Refer a friend to get a great deal and if they sign up (let me know their name beforehand via email) you get $5 in referral bucks! ALSO pre-registering this week will be new CRICUT CLASSES (intermediate/advanced & project oriented)--so look for those too!

-SCACD's DT has a new challenge on Monday's called "Make a Mess Monday" and it's all about gettin' messy & dirty with your crafting and having fun! Susana's store has some new "messy fun" products in stock and we're gonna show you how to use 'em! So stop by the store blog HERE to see the first challenge and join in!

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Pretty Peonies

This project I whipped up yesterday after playing catch up with the mounds of mail and emails that piled up while I was away, hee hee! I also had lots of new goodies that came while I was away so I bust some out of their packaging and put them to good use! This is a NEW cutie pie called "Tilda with Peony" from the Wedding Collection at Magnolia-licious! I kept the color palette simple with tones of white, cream and pale yellow!

The patterned paper that I used here is Webster's Pages "Lullaby Lane/Life's Portrait" paper pack--such pretty patterns in this, love it! That fabbo cream colored frame is from a pack by Pink Paislee called "Artisan Elements" (see here)--they are kinda rubbery/vinyl feeling and are sticky on the back, really pretty & fun to use! You can paint them, glitter them & distress them if you want too--I left mine plain! The pretty yellow scrolls were made with some NEW Marianne Design dies that just came in at my pal Nikki's store HERE (I used the Frame Circle)--I love them and so easy to use! And then I added a few roses from Wild Orchid Crafts on the left corner to finish it off---soft, pretty & elegant!

This cutie (Tilda with Peony from Magnolia-licious) was colored with my fave Copics (yellow: Y11,Y00,Y0000/hair: E25/E31/E50) and to tone down the yellow I bit I colored over the dark yellow with E51 to make it more buttery colored to match the tones in the papers! And she got a bit of bling by putting stardust stickles on her dress bow, trim and peony petals. Her shoes got a coat of diamond glaze to make them nice white patent leather shoes!

DELISH CANDY TIME:Want to win this Magnolia stamp, a package of Pink Paislee frames and a copy of the Magnolia magazine "Midsummer Nights Dream"? Let me know "what your favorite summertime dessert is" by leaving a comment on this post only by this Friday and one of you will be a lucky winner!!